Center for Intrepid opens with soldiers in spotlight

The Center for the Intrepid officially opened for business Monday with a celebrity laden ceremony that began with a parade of the day's true VIPs -- troops wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The GIs crossed a red carpet in front of more than 3,000 people outside the new state-of-the-art rehabilitation center, some in wheelchairs, others limping on crutches. As they took their seats the clapping grew heartier, occasionally punctuated by whoops, whistles and hoo-ahhs.

"Fearless, courageous, brave, strong, " master of ceremonies Bill White, president of the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, said of the troops. "These men and women are intrepid."

The applause launched an emotional outpouring Monday as a two-hour ceremony began outside the 65,000 square-foot facility across from Brooke Army Medical Center.

Presidential hopefuls, high-powered generals, celebrities and millionaire philanthropists rubbed shoulders with enlistees and everyday people to mark the opening of the Intrepid center -- a one-of-a-kind, four-story facility designed to help America's war-wounded return to something approaching a normal life.

Yet controversy over the war shadowed a flag-studded, feel-good gathering where applause lines in speeches blurred into patriotic music performed by the Marine Drum and Bugle Corps and lyrics sung by rock star John Mellencamp.

Supporters of President Bush and the war shared the same ground with his most ardent foes. The contentious debate over Iraq was off the table for the most part, but Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., took issue with fellow presidential hopeful and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who demanded Sunday that Bush withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq before he leaves office.

McCain said it was important for America to "accomplish the mission" in Iraq, but said he didn't know how long that would take. He said Americans could be persuaded to support the conflict another five to 10 years "if we can show progress"

Asked what progress is, McCain replied, "It means clearing and holding areas so that people can begin normal lives, the government effective, the Iraqi military being more and more effective over time so that we can gradually withdraw. It's going to take time, though."

Clinton, D-N.Y., walked away from reporters as they sought an interview outside the Intrepid center. Both candidates were invited as financial contributors to the facility.

"Today is not about politics or the war, " she said. "It's about their heroism and the ability to get them well and give them the best that America has to offer as they've given the best of themselves."

New York real estate developer Arnold Fisher, who helped spearhead the project, took issue with others who have asked why private donors funded the Intrepid center, rather than the government. Some critics, including former Clinton administration adviser Paul Begala, have chastised Republicans for funding billions in tax cuts but not the Center for the Intrepid.

"Why would we want our government to do that which we could do ourselves in half the time, at the half the cost and twice the quality?" Fisher said.

Thunderous applause erupted.

The Intrepid center specializes in rehabilitative care for troops that have lost limbs or suffered severe burns, blindness and head injuries in combat. More than 600,000 people donated $50 million to build it.

Retired Army 1st Sgt. Daryl Eddings, part of the first rotation of U.S. troops sent to Iraq, was there the day that ground was broken on the center. Five troop rotations have gone to Iraq since as he has gotten back on his feet, trading his old uniform for a business suit.

"It's awesome; it's awesome, " Eddings, 46, of San Antonio, said, adding he's envious of those who will use it. "I wonder if it would have helped me."

That might seem an odd reaction to some, but not veterans who were among the first to arrive here badly hurt, among them burn victim J.R. Martinez, 23, of Dallas. He's undergone 32 operations since a roadside bomb blast in Iraq and admitted: "It makes me want to be a patient again in some ways."

So far, 839 troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have lost limbs. The Army had no figures Monday for burn victims. Nine in every 10 amputees were hurt in Iraq -- often victims of powerful bombs that leave burns, neurological damage and hearing loss.

The Intrepid center will serve 300 to 400 troops a year as they face long and grueling periods of rehabilitation. But the high-tech facility will make it easier as these troops, athletic and in the prime of life, not only try to walk but hike, run and climb.

Minnesota National Guard Spc. David Lawson, who lost his right leg above the ankle in a motorcycle accident last fall, is like a lot of troops. He wants to serve in Iraq with his buddies -- and might just get his wish.

"If I can be there and serve, I feel like I owe it to my brothers, " said Lawson, 21, of Hudson, Wis. "I got into an accident the night before (his scheduled deployment) and I feel like I skipped out on my troops."

Prosthetist John Fergason sees the Intrepid center as a quantum leap in the rehabilitation of amputee and burn victims.

Among the technology offered at the center is a treadmill mounted on a circular platform. As the 18-foot platform moves, a 300-degree projection screen gives images of different environments, creating the illusion of motion and helping specialists adjust artificial limbs.

"I'm excited to have a tool like that to watch how the prosthesis performs under some pretty adverse situations, " said Fergason, noting that tests were done on BAMC's grounds. "What you have to remember is the world doesn't look like hospital halls."

The center is the largest, costliest facility ever built for war veterans with private funds, but it is also flanked by two new Fisher Houses. The homes for families of wounded troops have 21 rooms each and are seen as a key element in rehabilitation.

"People are going to recover faster and it's going to be easier if their families are with them, " said Dave Coker, president of the Fisher House Foundation and a 1979 Trinity University graduate. "It helps motivate them; it lets them focus on the task of getting better. They're not worried about how the family is. They're with the family."

Martinez, whose face is badly scarred, has faced a long rehab in addition to his three-dozen surgeries. Another soldier on hand, 23-year-old Spc. Dortrie Jones, of Memphis, Tenn., is a victim of a Dec. 9 blast in Baghdad. He lost his right leg at the knee and struggles to speak.

"These men and women have given more than any one could expect, " said O'Donnell, who met with the troops before the ceremony, "and it's humbling to be in their presence."